


Desert Love Affair

by late_night_writer



Series: A Pirate's Life For Me [2]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Childbirth, F/M, Intercrural Sex, Loss of Virginity, Pregnant Sex, Smut, Unplanned Pregnancy, Unprotected Sex, Vaginal Fingering, Vaginal Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-17
Updated: 2020-06-24
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:34:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24549985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/late_night_writer/pseuds/late_night_writer
Summary: Sparks fly between the prince of the pirates and the princess of Alabasta during their trip through the desert.
Relationships: Nefertari Vivi/Portgas D. Ace
Series: A Pirate's Life For Me [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1790992
Comments: 10
Kudos: 44





	1. Desert Love Affair! Ace and Vivi's Night in Alabasta!

**May 1522: Alabasta Desert**

The fire was still burning bright under the black of the night. The Straw Hats were asleep, leaving Alabasta’s princess and the tattooed pirate alone with one another. Ace prodded the fire, Vivi unable to take her eyes off him. Ace could feel the princess’s eyes boring into him, and turned his head toward her. The light from the fire pulsated off his face like a heartbeat, illuminating his freckles.

“Is something the matter?” Ace said.

Vivi blinked. “Hm?” she said. Her chin was resting in the palm of her hand.

“You’re staring at me.”

Vivi realized she was still staring and felt a blush come to her cheeks as she averted her eyes from him. Ace continued to look, the desert suddenly feeling a lot hotter despite the sun having set quite a while before.

Vivi hugged her arms to herself and fixed her eyes on the sand.

“If you’re cold, you should come sit by the fire,” Ace said.

“No, it’s not that,” Vivi said, shaking her head. 

“What?”

Vivi considered it, but then shook her head. “No,” she said. “It’s not important.”

“What is it?”

After a pause, Vivi looked up at him with a small smile. “I was just thinking that you’re really handsome.”

Ace chuckled. “You’re beautiful, Vivi,” he said, “but I think you can do a lot better than me.”

Vivi furrowed her eyebrows. “Why do you say that?”

“You’re a princess,” he said. “I’m a good-for-nothing pirate. Once all this is over, you’ll find some handsome prince and marry him, and you’ll have a kingdom to rule over. And when that happens, I’ll still be a wanted man with a bounty on my head, if someone hasn’t already claimed it by then.”

Ace mentioning death so casually made Vivi’s stomach twist. “How can you say that so casually?”

Ace shrugged. “I chose this life for myself. It’s in my blood. I’m better off not dragging anyone into it. Especially not you.” Ace found himself staring into the fire after he’d finished speaking, quiet for a minute.

When the silence dragged on for another minute, Vivi lightly patted the spot next to her. “Come sit with me.”

Ace obliged. He stretched out his legs in front of him and leant back, resting his weight on the flattened palms of his hands.

Vivi reached over and stroked Ace’s cheek. “I like your freckles,” she said. Ace started to blush furiously and his eyes darted away from Vivi.

“Vivi…”

“I want you to know that you’re not good for nothing,” Vivi said. “I don’t know what makes you think that, but from what I’ve seen… you’re so kind, Ace. You’re polite. And you care so much about Luffy, and you protect the people you care about. That doesn’t seem like someone who’s good for nothing.”

Still blushing, Ace turned his head back to face Vivi. With her hand still on Ace’s cheek, Vivi leaned in and kissed him. Ace started briefly before he closed his eyes and started kissing back, bringing his hand up to caress Vivi’s face. The two stayed that way for a moment, gently pressing their lips into the other’s.

When Ace pulled away, he grabbed the hand Vivi was using to stroke his face. “We shouldn’t…” he said.

Vivi frowned. “Do you not want to?”

“I do want to,” Ace said. “But it doesn’t matter what I want.”

“Why not?”

“Because…” Ace closed his eyes. “If anyone ever finds out about this, you’re going to be in danger. The government doesn’t _like_ people who get close to me. I don’t want anything bad to happen to you because of me.”

Vivi shook her head. “It’ll be fine. Everyone else is asleep.”

Ace didn’t speak for a moment. “I don’t want you to regret this.”

“I won’t. I promise.”

Ace took a moment to consider this before he leaned in again and pressed his lips to Vivi’s. Vivi parted her lips and allowed him to slide his tongue into her mouth, and the two began to explore one another with their hands. Vivi was shocked how warm Ace’s body was, even in the cool desert night. At his touch she could swear she felt her whole body ignite.

Ace pulled away and brought his lips to her ear. The feeling of his warm breath on her skin made her tremble.

“We have to be quiet,” he whispered. “Do you make a lot of noise?”

“I’ll be quiet,” Vivi promised.

Parting from one another, Ace removed his hakama and laid it flat out on the sand. Vivi did the same before untying her hair, letting it flow down over her shoulders. Ace reached over and twirled a finger around a loose strand, letting it run over his fingers.

“Here. Lay down.”

Vivi laid atop their hakamas next to Ace, the two of them positioned so that they were facing each other. Vivi ran her fingers down Ace’s chest, his body warm under her touch. Ace pulled down Vivi’s top, exposing her milky breasts, and started to cup them, running his thumb over one of her nipples and giving it a light tug. He leaned forward and planted several kisses between her breasts, flicking his tongue out occasionally.

Vivi could feel a warmth grow in her abdomen and pressure start to build between her legs. She clutched the back of Ace’s head as he kissed her breasts and sucked her nipples. Vivi threw her leg over Ace’s hip.

“Have you done this before?” Vivi breathed.

“Yeah,” Ace answered. “I know what I’m doing.”

Ace took his time to run his hands down Vivi’s body, lightly tracing his fingertips over her abdomen and grabbing her backside. 

“Where do you want me to touch you?” Vivi whispered. 

Instead of answering verbally, Ace grabbed Vivi’s free hand and guided it down to his cock. He hadn’t pulled his shorts down, but Vivi could feel how aroused he was through his pants. She started to stroke him with a light touch.

With his breath hot in her ear, Ace said, “You’re gonna have to be a little more aggressive than that.” Vivi grabbed him a little more roughly, and Ace groaned into her ear. “Oh~ _yes_ , like that.”

Ace finally grabbed hold of Vivi’s bottoms and shucked them down her thighs. He placed the tips of his forefingers between her legs and started rubbing circles into her clit. Vivi immediately drew in a sharp breath, her knees shaking.

“Oh, Ace,” she said. “That feels so good.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes… please keep going…”

Ace rubbed at her with increasing speed, Vivi moaning quietly and trying to stifle them with a clenched fist.

Across the camp, Sanji stirred and opened his eyes. He blinked and yawned, stretching his arms out above him. He’d been having a hot dream featuring Nami- _san_ and woke up half-hard, but that wasn’t what had stirred him from his sleep. His bladder was full and he needed desperately to get up and relieve himself. However, when he lifted his head, the voice of Zoro stopped him from moving any further.

“Don’t get up.” The swordsman’s voice was low.

Sanji looked over, blinking the sleep from his eyes. “What?”

“Lay back down. Wait a while before you get up.” Zoro himself was lying on his stomach, one hand resting on his nearest sword.

“I have to take a piss.” Sanji matched Zoro’s low tone, though he wasn’t sure why.

“Wait.”

Sanji tilted his head, though stilled when he heard soft moans coming from the other side of camp. He cut his eyes in the direction of the noise, though could only tell so much without turning his head. From what he could see, it looked like Ace and Vivi- _chan_ were sleeping on top of their hakamas. But from the moans, he knew what was really going on: they were in the middle of a lovemaking session.

Sanji looked back at Zoro, who shook his head, again advising him not to get up. “Leave them alone,” he said. “They’ve probably waited all day to be alone.”

Vivi was on the brink of an orgasm, her whole body trembling, and her breath heavy. “Oh, Ace,” she moaned. “Oh, Ace… oh… oh… _oh_ …”

Abruptly, Ace stopped rubbing her clit and slipped a finger inside of her. He stopped. “You’re a virgin,” he said.

“Yeah,” Vivi said, still shaking but falling from her high of being so close to a climax.

“You’re so tight,” Ace said. “I’m gonna have to be gentle… oh, god, you’re wet…”

Ace slid his finger in and out of Vivi, dragging his wet finger over her lips. Ace’s breath was getting heavy.

“Vivi,” he said. “Undo my belt buckle. Please.”

Vivi fumbled with Ace’s belt buckle—brandished with a capital ‘A’ for his name—before pulling it apart and undoing the button and zipper on his shorts. Ace stopped touching Vivi for a moment to pull his shorts down, revealing a bulge in his underwear. Vivi reached for him and pulled his underwear out of the way. Ace’s cock sprung forward, already leaking pre-cum.

Ace grabbed himself and started stroking, already moaning. “Come here, Vivi,” he said. He let go of himself and pulled Vivi close to him, positioning his cock at her entrance. Both of them were breathing heavily, Vivi trembling as she held onto Ace’s shoulders. Ace held himself and started rubbing Vivi’s clit with the head of his cock.

“Oh, Ace,” Vivi moaned into his ear. “Oh, _Ace_ , that feels so good… please don’t stop… mmm, mmm, Ace…”

“Oh, Vivi,” Ace said. “You’re dripping. That’s so hot, Vivi, oh, god…”

Vivi felt herself tingling the more Ace rubbed against her. She buried her head in the crook of his neck. Ace let go of his cock and started thrusting his hips, rubbing against Vivi from the outside. He started to grunt with every thrust, starting off slow and gradually picking up speed.

The tingling became so intense that Vivi squeezed her eyes shut. “Ace… Ace, I’m gonna cum, oh… _oh_ —” Every nerve in Vivi’s body ignited and she opened her mouth in a soundless scream, pressing her fingertips into Ace’s back and clinging onto him. Ace felt a rush of fluid over his cock, and he pulled away from Vivi, intending to finish himself off.

Ace pulled away from Vivi a little bit, grabbing himself and giving himself slow strokes. His cock throbbed from the stimulation with Vivi, leaking pre-cum and nearing an orgasm. Oh, he was almost there, if he could just stroke himself a little more…

Once again, Vivi threw her leg over Ace’s hip and scooted her body towards him until Ace’s cock lined up with her entrance. “Ace… I wanna feel you inside me,” she said.

“Wait—Vivi, it might hurt—”

Vivi sank down onto Ace and immediately he threw back his head and came, open-mouthed. He groaned, his body trembling as he spilled inside of her, his cock pulsing. He felt Vivi bounce a bit, the snug fit of her walls tugging on him, and he almost thought he’d bust again. 

“ _Oh… oh… oh…_ ” Ace groaned, and bucked his hips involuntarily, milking the rest out of himself. 

Vivi grimaced, her eyes shut. Just by the look on her face he could tell that he’d been too much for her; at least for her first time. Ace pulled out and saw his own cum leaking from Vivi. God, it would be a lot of cum. It’d been a while since he’d been with a girl, or had even sat down to touch himself.

Ace leaned his head on Vivi’s shoulder. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to finish inside of you. Usually I have better control than that.”

“It’s alright,” Vivi responded. “I could feel you pulsing. It felt really nice.” Vivi smiled at him, and Ace returned her grin.

Ace stroked the side of Vivi’s head, running his fingers through her hair. “You were really good,” Ace said. “Especially for your first time. I wish you would’ve told me beforehand.” The smile dropped from Ace’s face. “I would’ve been a lot slower, and way more gentle.”

“I thought you were great.” Vivi leaned in and planted a kiss on Ace’s forehead. “Maybe we can do it again sometime.”

Ace and Vivi repositioned their clothes, curled up atop their hakamas, and fell asleep in each other’s arms. After the two had been still for a few minutes, Sanji rose from his resting place across camp. He wandered behind a rock close to camp and unzipped his fly, taking himself out of his underwear and emptying his bladder.

_Jeez_ , he thought. He was still semi-erect from his dream about Nami- _san_ , but hearing Ace and Vivi having sex definitely hadn’t helped his situation. When his bladder was empty, he zipped up his pants and headed back to camp. Maybe he’d dream about Nami- _san_ again once he fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first rarepair... you're telling me I have to make content for this MYSELF like some kind of artist?
> 
> Anyway, I drew a similar scene you can see [here](https://www.deviantart.com/late-night-writer/art/One-Piece-Desert-Love-Affair-842209206).


	2. When Will I See You Again? Ace and Vivi Say Goodbye!

**June 1522: Alubarna Palace**

Vivi sat in front of her father, staring down at her folded hands. Tears welled in her eyes. She knew in her heart she wouldn’t be reprimanded, but she couldn’t help but feel shame bloom in her chest.

Cobra had his arms folded and a stony expression, but his voice was soft. “Vivi,” he said. “The doctor told me the results of the test. I’m assuming she told you as well?”

Vivi closed her eyes, feeling her lower lip tremble, and nodded her head. “Yes.”

Cobra brought his hand to his face and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Pregnant, Vivi? I have so many questions for you but I don’t even know where to begin.”

Vivi and Ace had only had time to make love once while they were in the desert, but once was all it had taken. The next morning they’d parted ways, Ace leaving his little brother with a slip of paper before going off to rejoin his own crew. Vivi herself thought she’d never see him again, though to her surprise she received a letter from him shortly after. They had been writing back and forth ever since. She had no idea if he’d ever be back in Alabasta; deep in her heart, she hoped he would, but Ace was already in so much trouble with the government, she wasn’t sure he’d risk coming back to Alabasta and getting them both vilified.

“When did this happen?” Cobra asked.

Vivi hugged herself tight, not meeting her father’s gaze. “In May,” she answered.

Cobra nodded, his forefingers still pinching the bridge of his nose. “When Crocodile was attempting a coup?”

“Yes… it was around that time…” Vivi felt herself blush, her face reddening all the way up to her ears. 

“It wasn’t with one of those Straw Hat pirates, was it?”

“No!” Vivi looked up, shaking her head in defense. “It wasn’t with one of them. They’re just my friends.”

“Then who was it, Vivi?” Cobra asked. “Who’s the father?”

Vivi hesitated. She knew if she answered, her father would think it was so much worse than it being one of the Straw Hats. “It was…” she started, but the rest died in her mouth. _It was Ace,_ she thought. _Ace, with a 550,000,000 Berry bounty on his head. Portgas D. Ace, member of the Whitebeard Pirates. Beautiful, kind, amazing Ace…_ but she knew her father would never see him that way.

“It was…” she started again, but couldn’t bring herself to finish the sentence.

“Vivi. _Who was it_?”

Vivi opened her mouth to say something, but at that moment, the door opened behind them.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, your majesty.”

Vivi turned around to see Koza standing in the doorway.

“Koza,” Cobra said. “Now isn’t a very good time. Can you wait until I’m finished talking with Vivi?”

“That’s actually why I’m here.” Koza stepped into the room and approached Cobra until he was standing next to Vivi. “I’m sorry to have been eavesdropping, but I couldn’t help but overhear the conversation.”

Koza placed a hand on Vivi’s shoulder, and she directed her gaze to him. He stared straight ahead, looking Cobra in the eyes.

“It’s me. I’m the father.”

Vivi’s eyes widened and her mouth opened in shock. 

“You?” Cobra’s eyebrows shot up onto his forehead. “You, Koza?”

“Yes.” Koza nodded. He gave a sheepish smile, cutting his eyes towards Vivi. “We were only celebrating after Crocodile was taken down.”

Cobra sighed. “Koza, I don’t need to know the details.” He turned to his daughter. “Vivi, is this true?”

Vivi looked from Koza to her father, before placing her hand atop Koza’s and nodding. “Yes,” she said. “It’s true.”

Cobra thought on this, turning away from the two and slowly pacing in front of them. After several minutes of excruciating silence, Cobra sighed yet again and closed his eyes.

“Koza,” he said. “Could you walk Vivi back to her room, please? I’ll have to think more on how to handle this situation and then we can talk later.”

“Yes, your majesty.”

Koza lightly touched Vivi’s arm as she rose from her seat. She blinked the remaining tears from her eyes as Koza escorted her from the room and into the hallway. Once the door had shut behind them and they were a good distance away from where Vivi and Cobra had been speaking, Vivi turned her gaze to Koza.

“Why did you do that?” she asked.

Koza was silent for a beat while they walked. “I figured there was a good reason why you were hesitating to answer,” he said. “I really hadn’t been meaning to eavesdrop.”

Vivi and Koza walked a little further down the hall, Vivi listening to their footsteps echo on the tiles. “Well, thank you.”

Koza nodded. “You don’t have to tell me who the father is. I don’t need to know.” His eyes fell to the floor. “You must have your reasons for wanting it to be a secret.”

Vivi and Koza parted ways as she entered her room. 

Vivi spent a lot of time in her room after discovering she was pregnant. She kept looking down at her stomach, imagining a baby growing inside of her. The thought of it simultaneously terrified her and excited her. She was young and ill-prepared for a baby, but the thought of having a small piece of Ace with her was oddly comforting. Vivi reached down and caressed her belly; it was still flat. No signs of a baby in there at all, but her body knew different. Her nipples had darkened and she felt a constant underlying nausea.

In the middle of the night, not long after finding out she was pregnant, Vivi felt a gentle touch on her shoulder as she was sleeping. 

“Vivi,” came a soft voice followed by an equally soft kiss to her temple. “Vivi.”

Vivi opened her eyes, coming out of a dreamless sleep, and blinked away the tiredness from her eyes. When she turned over, she saw a tall, shaggy-haired figure standing at her bedside.

“Ace!” Vivi threw her arms around him, and Ace welcomed her in an embrace. At just the sight of him she felt a fire awaken in her belly, pressure building in her abdomen and her pulse suddenly detectable between her legs.

“Hi, Vivi,” he said, and kissed the top of her head.

Tears sprung to Vivi’s eyes and her lower lip trembled as she looked up at Ace. “Ace,” she said. “I’m pregnant.”

Ace nodded. “Yeah,” he said. “I know.”

Vivi’s eyebrows furrowed. “You know?”

“The princess of Alabasta is pregnant,” he said. “News of that traveled pretty fast.”

Vivi buried her face into Ace’s bare chest. “I’m a little scared.”

Ace stroked Vivi’s hair. “Only a little?”

Vivi pulled Ace into the bed with her, her hands traveling to his hair so she could run her hands through it. “I’m a little excited, too.”

“I’m more than a little scared for you.” Ace traced the tips of his fingers down Vivi’s upper arm all the way to her elbow. “If anyone ever finds out that it’s mine… they’ll wanna kill it and you.” Ace shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut. “God,” he said. “I’m so sorry.”

“You don’t have to be sorry. We both did this.”

“I gave in when I knew I shouldn’t have. Had I just held back, you wouldn’t be in this situation right now.”

“Ace, stop it. I told you I wouldn’t regret it and I don’t.”

Ace looked at her, his eyes sad, and stroked her face. “You will,” he said.

Vivi shook her head, adamant. “No.” She grabbed Ace’s face in her hands and pressed her lips to his, kissing him open-mouthed and tenderly.

“Vivi,” Ace said, his voice nearing a groan.

“I want you so badly, Ace,” Vivi said airily. “My body’s aching for you.”

“Oh, Vivi…”

Vivi snaked a hand down Ace’s body and cupped his groin. She gasped before giggling. “You’re so hard already,” she said. “Oh, you knew what you were doing when you came here.”

Ace buried his face in the crook of Vivi’s neck. “I can’t help it,” he said. “You’re so beautiful.”

“Come here,” Vivi said, pulling Ace’s hip toward her until their bodies were touching. “I want you inside me this time.”

“Vivi, wait,” Ace said. “There’s something I need to talk to you about.”

“It can wait,” Vivi said. She wasn’t sure if it was the pregnancy or the fact that she hadn’t seen him in two months, but Vivi was hungry for Ace. There was already a tingling sensation between her legs and her heart rate was skyrocketing. Vivi grabbed the waist of Ace’s shorts and pulled both his shorts and underwear down to his thighs. She grabbed him and stroked slowly up and down his shaft, causing Ace to tremble.

“Oh… oh, Vivi…”

Ace pulled his knee up to his chest and began undoing the laces of his boots, kicking them off before pulling his shorts and underwear the rest of the way down his legs and tossing them aside. Vivi ran her hands down Ace’s naked body, her breath picking up as she took in the sight of him. Ace grabbed hold of Vivi’s nightdress and pulled it over her head in one swift motion leaving her naked in front of him.

“We’ll do things a little differently this time…” Ace ran his finger tips over Vivi’s slit and she trembled. He grabbed the head of his cock and pressed against her opening, easing his head in before pulling out and repeating.

Vivi clutched the sheets and moaned, clenching her teeth. “Ace, _please_.”

“Hang on,” Ace said. “Don’t you want this to last?”

Desperate, Vivi pulled Ace down on top of her. Ace kissed her deeply, slowly rocking his hips against her before pushing into her.

“ _Oh,_ ” Vivi moaned, arching her back. “ _Yes_ , Ace, yes!”

“Shh,” Ace whispered in her ear. “Do you wanna wake the whole palace?”

Ace thrusted his cock in and out of her, feeling a pull low in his abdomen as he did so. He trembled and slowed down. He wasn’t ready to cum yet.

Ace explored Vivi’s body with his hands and with his mouth. Her breasts had swollen since they’d last been together, and he made sure to be gentle with them. He cupped them and kissed between them, pressing his tongue to Vivi’s warm skin. Vivi tugged on Ace’s hair, grunting as she bucked against him desperately. 

His breath heavy, Ace pulled away from Vivi and sat up on his knees. Vivi wrapped her legs around his waist and Ace placed his hands on Vivi’s thighs.

“Are you ready?” he asked.

“Yes,” Vivi breathed.

Ace thrusted his cock into Vivi and she clenched around him. He bottomed out inside her and groaned as he slowly pulled out before thrusting back in.

“Oh, Ace, keep doing that…”

Picking up speed, Ace bucked his hips against Vivi, his breathing quickening as he got closer and closer to the edge. Vivi squirmed around him, trying to close her legs.

“Ace, it feels too good, I can’t take it~” She opened her mouth and her abdomen contracted as she came, clenching tightly around Ace.

Ace grunted and spilled inside her, his cock throbbing. He kept bucking until he finished, filling her up. Vivi squeezed her legs around him and pulled him in closer. When both had finished riding out their high, Ace laid down next to Vivi and rolled over to face her.

Ace ran his fingers through Vivi’s hair. “I’m sorry that I love you,” he said.

Vivi felt her heart soar and a smile spread across her face. “Why are you sorry about that?”

Ace pressed his forehead against Vivi’s, eyes closed, and stayed that way for a minute. “Because if I didn’t maybe this wouldn’t hurt so much,” he finally said. 

Vivi pulled away, eyebrows furrowed. “What wouldn’t?”

Ace paused. “I’ve been looking for a man who killed a crewmate of mine,” he said. “And I know where he is now. When I leave here, I’m setting out to go and confront him. He’s a dangerous man. From what I know, he ate a powerful Devil Fruit. I plan to kill him.” Ace didn’t meet Vivi’s eyes as he spoke. He swallowed. “But just in case things don’t go the way I’m hoping… I wanted to see you again.”

“What are you saying?” Vivi could feel her heartbeat picking up and her body start to sweat.

“Vivi… once I confront him, only one of us is going to leave that battle. There’s a chance I could die. And if that happens… I wanted a chance to say goodbye to you first.”

“Don’t say that.” Vivi buried her head in Ace’s chest, clutching onto him for dear life. “You’ll be just fine. We don’t have to say goodbye right now.”

“And since you’re pregnant,” Ace continued to speak, ignoring what Vivi said, “I feel like I should prepare you if you’re going to raise a child that’s mine. There’s something you need to know…”

Both Ace and Vivi were quiet, the only sounds heard between the both of them were their synchronized heartbeats.

“My father… the man whose blood I share… is Gol D. Roger.”

Vivi almost felt the room close in on them. Her body started to shake and yet she still held onto Ace as if she would never get to hold onto them again.

“No one can ever know our baby is mine. If anyone knew, it would put them—and you—in too much danger. I never want it to come to that.”

Vivi was too shocked to respond.

“My mother, she tried her best to distance me from my father. She carried me past term, and died in childbirth. I owe her my life. But with you, Vivi, hardly anyone knows we were in the desert together. No one could connect the dots. All you would need to do is pass them off as someone else’s child… has anyone claimed they’re the father?”

Vivi still shook as her voice came forward, weak from her throat. “Koza.”

“Is he a good man?”

Vivi nodded and then found that once she started, she couldn’t stop. “He’s a great man.”

“Good.”

Ace rose from his place on the bed, and Vivi felt her arms slip away from him. Ace gathered his underwear and shorts and pulled them back onto his body. Vivi sat up in bed, trembling now, afraid that if he left her sight she would never see him again. Ace pulled his boots onto his feet and did up the laces.

“There’s so much I want to say to our baby,” Ace said, turning his head toward Vivi. “But… I didn’t think I could ask you to relay all that information. So, I wrote this.”

Ace pulled an envelope from a pocket on his shorts and held it out to Vivi. She grabbed it, leaving sweaty fingerprints on the face of it. It was addressed ‘For our baby’. Once the letter was in Vivi’s hands, Ace made his way toward the window.

“Goodbye, Vivi,” he said. “Just in case I don't come back… Thank you for making me feel like I deserved to be born. I love you.”

“Wait!” Vivi lept from the bed and threw her body against Ace’s, wrapping her arms around him. “Don’t go. I want you to stay here with me. If you leave, when will I see you again?”

Ace patted Vivi’s hand. “Vivi,” he said. “I can’t stay. Even if I could, the Marines would catch on eventually. It’d be too dangerous for you.”

“We could hide you,” Vivi said. “I could get you a disguise. You could start a new life here.”

“I could never ask you to do that.” He reached out and stroked Vivi’s cheek with the backs of his fingers. “I’m sorry, I have to do this.”

Tears welled in Vivi’s eyes. “I don’t want Koza to be this baby’s father! I want to raise this baby with _you_! I want them to know you. I want you to hold our baby when they’re born and give them a name.”

Ace chuckled. “You want me to name them? Alright… if it’s a boy, Leo. And for a girl… Lily.” He turned around, gently placing his hands on Vivi’s forearms. Vivi looked up at him as tears began to travel down her cheeks. “You know how much I hate to leave you.”

“I wish it was different,” Vivi sniffed.

“I know.”

Vivi stood on her tiptoes and gave him a kiss. “Please come home to us.”

Ace pressed his forehead to Vivi’s. “I’ll try.”

Two weeks later, Ace was dead. Vivi was inconsolable. She curled up in a ball atop her bed sheets and sobbed, her whole body convulsing. The palace’s doctors sedated her for fear that she’d miscarry, and for several days following Ace’s death Vivi existed only in a fog. She cried until she thought all her tears were gone, and then she cried some more. For the life of them doctors couldn’t get her to say why she was so upset, and in the end they chalked it up to hormonal changes that were causing some sort of emotional breakdown.

Vivi’s heart ached so fiercely that she felt her hands throb at the thought of Ace. She clutched her belly to protect the baby from anything that came near, or anyone. She couldn’t bear to lose them too.

“I’ll go on for you,” she said, and wiped her eyes. “You and I, we’ll go on because he can’t.” She sniffled, and took a deep breath. “I promise, Ace.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did a little editing so it would fit in better with the show's timeline, and also changed up the dialogue a little now that I've actually reached the Impel Down arc.


	3. Ace's Child! The Heir to the Alabasta Throne!

**February 1523: Alubarna Palace**

Vivi clenched the sheets on her bed in her balled fists, breathing laboriously with her head pressed against the mattress. She sat on her knees on the floor next to the bed, leaning her upper half onto it. Her knees shook as she groaned, tears streaming from her eyes. Outside, the sun was just starting to set, casting a golden glow through her bedroom’s large windows. The midwife stood behind her, gently rubbing her back.

“Are you sure you don’t want the father in here with you?” she questioned.

This only made Vivi cry even harder, her body shaking with sobs. ‘The father’ this, and ‘the father’ that, but she knew they were only referring to Koza. Oh, how she wished it was Ace waiting outside that door.

“The only person I want here with me is already dead!” The words came out choppily, her breath coming in gasps.

The midwife clicked her tongue and tilted her head sympathetically. “Oh, honey, I’m sure your mother is watching over you right now. She’s gonna give this baby a kiss before it comes down from heaven to be born.”

Her mother… she hadn’t even considered her mother. Instead, Vivi imagined Ace in heaven, holding their baby, kissing its little forehead before sending them down to Vivi. “Take good care of your mother,” he’d say. “Tell her I love her and miss her so much.”

This thought was comforting. Vivi felt like she wasn’t crying as much until the next contraction hit, and the tears started to flow all over again as she grit her teeth and pressed her knees against the floor.

“I want to push!” she cried.

“I know, we just have to play the waiting game right now,” the midwife assured. “You’re dilated to a nine-and-a-half. It shouldn’t be long till you reach a ten.”

“It’s only half a centimeter…” Vivi sobbed.

“The baby’s head is ten centimeters around,” the midwife said. “That half a centimeter matters.”

Vivi felt her insides squeeze, trying to push the baby out. For a moment she wondered if she would die doing this, just as Ace’s mother had. The thought terrified her; leaving this child behind an orphan, with only Koza and her father to raise them… They would never even know that Koza wasn’t really their father. If Vivi died here, the truth would die with her.

“This would be easier on you if you were a little older,” the midwife said. “But since you’re such a young mother, this is going to be a difficult delivery. Is this the position you want to deliver in?”

Vivi’s arms were shaking. “I’m not moving.”

“Okay, spread your legs a little wider for me.” The midwife patted Vivi’s knee, and Vivi scooted her legs further apart. “Here, pull up your nightdress.”

Vivi grabbed the ends of her nightdress and bunched it up under her breasts, pinning the garment between her body and the bed. Now that Vivi was bare from below her breasts, the midwife checked her progress. Though she had done this several times while Vivi was laboring, it wasn’t any less unpleasant than the first time.

“Okay, Vivi,” the midwife said. “You wanted to push? Well, it’s time to push.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really. I’m gonna count to ten, and you push while I count. Just whenever you feel your next contraction, let me know and we can start.”

“Okay…”

Vivi’s whole body tensed and trembled as she pushed for the first time, the pressure in her head and lower abdomen growing the longer she tried to push. By the time the midwife finished counting, Vivi was gasping for breath.

“You wanna try again or do you need a minute?”

“Just let me catch my breath…” Vivi took a few more deep breaths before she started pushing again with her next contraction.

“You’re doing really well, Vivi, the head is descending beautifully. I think gravity is really gonna help you out here—once the head is out I think the rest should just follow.”

“Please just let this baby be born,” Vivi cried. “Don’t let me die doing this.”

“You won’t die, Vivi. I will not let that happen.”

After several more pushes, Vivi gave a guttural cry and felt the baby leave her body along with a gush of water. Her whole body untensed and she leaned forward onto the bed, shaking uncontrollably as she gasped for breath.

“Good job! It's a boy!” Vivi could hear the midwife patting the baby on the back in an attempt to get him to cry. “Look at that, he’s got your blue hair!”

“What?” Trembling, Vivi turned her head to try and look. “Why isn’t he crying? Is he okay?”

“Yeah! He’s really cute!”

Finally, the baby cried; a long, angry wail. The midwife set him on the bed in front of his mother’s face and Vivi was able to get her first look at him. He desperately needed to be cleaned off, but other than that, Vivi thought he was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen. She reached out to touch him but her hand trembled so fiercely she pulled it away.

“Oh, I love you,” she said, beginning to sob all over again. “I love you so much, and your dad loves you so much. You’re absolutely perfect.”

“Congratulations, Princess Vivi.” The midwife beamed.

When the delivery was finished, Vivi pulled herself onto the bed and laid with the baby close to her chest. He’d been cleaned off and wrapped in a blanket, and Vivi had since stopped shaking, so she turned her focus to running her fingers over his soft downy hair—blue, just like the midwife had said.

“Would you like me to bring Koza and your father into the room?” the midwife asked.

“No,” Vivi said. “I want to be alone with him for a while.”

“As you wish.”

The midwife left, and Vivi was alone with her son. He whimpered and Vivi leaned forward to kiss his forehead.

“Leo,” she said. “That’s the name your dad chose for you. Little Leo… you’re so handsome, just like your dad. Did you get to see him while you were up in heaven? He would’ve loved to be here to meet you in person.”

The baby wriggled, shaking his little fists and giving a small cry before his mother reached out to comfort him.

“I want to tell you something,” Vivi said as she stroked her son’s face. “This is probably the only time in your life I’ll be able to tell you, but I want you to know.” Vivi paused to take a deep breath and release it. “Your father’s name was Ace.”

Vivi brought the whining baby to her chest, holding him close, never wanting to let him go.

“Ace. His name was Ace.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeesh, scenes where a character gives birth are even harder to write than sex scenes...
> 
> I drew a part of this chapter which you can see [here](https://www.deviantart.com/late-night-writer/art/One-Piece-Leo-is-Born-849846333).


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